What is tiney's guardian joining fee?
Just like many nurseries, and some childminders, tiney charges a one-off joining fee to families of £59 on certain contract types - the exclusions to this are listed below.
The joining fee is paid direct to tiney and covers some of our essential agency on-boarding costs; including our time spent on registering families, establishing contracts, liaising with different payment schemes and chasing up-front payments. The joining fee is entirely separate from any charges that you, as a childminder, may decide to charge up front - including settling in fees.
Even though the joining fee is not applicable to every contract type, it’s important to note that every single family who joins your setting will receive from the same great package of rewards and benefits in their tiney app.
What benefits do families get when they choose tiney?
When signing up a new family, you might want to remind them of the below benefits they will be eligible for by joining tiney.
Don’t forget, the tiney app, plus its included benefits, are a big bonus for families when choosing a childcare setting. Remember to emphasise these benefits, plus tiney’s 5 star rating from 98% of enrolled parents, to any potential customers when you first meet them. You can introduce them (and yourself!) to the tiney app for parents on our website here.
Every tiney family receives the following inclusive benefits (even if their joining fee has been waived):
Our free online GP service for them and their family. (Includes prescribing services*)
Discounts with tiney partners including Play Makes Sense, Farewill & more
Access to tiney’s counselling, SEND & financial services phone support lines
An end of contract export from the tiney Journal to ensure all photos and media can be retained forever
Access to the tiney tips learning resources (for under 5s)
Access to parent webinars and expert talks
An enhanced in-app welcome pack & settling in guide
Streamlined experience with the tiney parents app including digital billing & high touch customer and payments support.
*Depending on circumstances some fees may apply on certain prescription types
Which contract types are exempt from the joining fee?
Your first 2 signed parent contracts will be exempt from the joining fee
Any wraparound contracts (meaning care before and/or after school for school-age children)
Contracts utilising the local authority-funded for 2 year olds with families on additional support (sometimes known as the 15 "free" hours for two-year-olds - this is not the same as funding for working families*).
Contracts utilising local authority funding with no additional fees to the guardian**
Emergency care contracts
Short term contracts for care lasting less than 60 days
Sibling contracts (for new or existing children). Parents of siblings will only pay to join once.
The first contract for existing childminders who have no current enrolments (ie. childminders returning from pause, or who take longer than two months to start trading)
Any existing contracts that are brought over on the switching pathway
* Contracts using funding for children of working parents (defined as earning over minimum wage and under £100k/yr) will not have the joining fee waived, unless they meet any of the other criteria.
**Contracts using local authority funding may include subsistence fees or fees for hours of care used in addition to the funded hours. The joining fee will not be waived on these, unless they meet any of the other criteria above.
When does the guardian pay?
If the contract does not fall under one of the above categories, the parent will be asked to pay their joining fee as part of their contract signing process.
As soon as you have signed a draft contract at your end, it will be sent to the parents by email - at which point they will be taken through our onboarding steps. They will be asked for some important information about their child, as well as how they intend to pay for their childcare. Finally they will be shown a summary of the contract and then to pay their fee by debit or credit card. When they have paid successfully, they'll then be able to sign the contract and care can begin!
What do I need to do to waive a guardian's joining fee?
Certain contract types are automatically exempt from the parent joining fee, while others will require you to let us know at the point you're requesting their new contract. The table below will tell you when you need to get in touch.
Contract type | What you need to do |
First 2 contracts | Nothing - the fee will be waived automatically |
Wraparound care (before and/or after school | The fee will be waived automatically as long as you specify that the placement is wraparound during the contract setup process in the tiney app |
Local authority funded placement (15 hours for two-year-olds) | Contact us using the ‘chat with tiney’ link in your app when you have requested your contract. Our team will then be able to waive the fee as long as the parent is eligible for this funding |
Emergency care contracts | Nothing - the fee will be waived automatically as long as you specify the contract end date during the contract setup process in the tiney app |
Short term contracts (less than 60 days) | Nothing - the fee will be waived automatically as long as you specify the contract end date during the contract setup process in the tiney app |
Contracts for siblings already registered | Nothing - the parent will automatically only pay for the first child they register |
The first contract for existing childminders who have no current enrolments | Contact us using the ‘chat with tiney’ link in your app when you have requested your contract. Our team will then be able to waive the fee. |
Existing contracts brought over by switching childminders | Contact us using the ‘chat with tiney’ link in your app when you have requested your tiney contract. Our team will then be able to waive the fee. |